Claudia Gadelha releases statement following loss to Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 13

UFC women’s strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha released a statement following her unanimous decision loss to Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 13.

It was a competitive fight but Gadelha’s grappling wasn’t as effective as it needed to be to keep Xiaonan on the mat for a long period of control. And when the fight was on the feet, Xiaonan was the one who was landing the cleaner blows and more of them. When the scorecards were read, all three judges gave the decision to Xiaonan by 29-28 scores.

Following the loss, Gadelha took to her Instagram to release a statement following the loss.

THIS IS PART OF MY DEVELOPMENT AS A PERSON. THERE’S NO SUCESS WITHOUT SET BACKS. THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING!

Gadelha was the No. 4 ranked women’s strawweight entering the bout so this is a tough loss for her that will set her back in the rankings. While Xiaonan is going to use the win over Gadelah to catapult herself up the 115lbs ladder, Gadelha will fall a few spots. At this point, it’s hard to call her a top title contender. Although she is still competitive in all of her fights, Gadelha has struggled to prove she has what it takes to beat champion Weili Zhang.

Following the loss to Xiaonan, look for Gadelha to still get a top-15 ranked opponent in her next fight. Looking at the rankings and No. 7 ranked Marina Rodriguez is someone who stands out to make for a good fight If the UFC wants her to take a bigger step back, then someone like No. 14 ranked Felice Herrig could work. Gadelha was a true title contender just a few years ago but after a few tough years, her UFC record fell to just 7-5 after the Xiaonan loss. Of course, a trilogy fight with rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk is always possible.

What do you think Claudia Gadelha should fight next?